Project Initiation Plan for

Graduate Career Bureau

KUPMT – Kingston University Project Management Team

Arwa Hussein[K1252038]

Dicky Kamajaya Valentius[K1300085]

Oloruntoba Ojo[K1240593]

Vanessa Okuonghae[K1267385]

Faculty of Science, Engineering and ComputingKingston University London

Agenda

Background & IntroductionProject OverviewDeliverables and Product BreakdownCost and Benefit AnalysisProject Phases and TasksGantt ChartProject/Team OrganisationIdentified Risks and Contingency Plan

Background & Introduction In the third quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate for new graduates was as high as 20%. This is attributed to the most recent recession and is by far the highest unemployment rate for new graduates recorded in over a decade. With almost 1 in 5 economically active recent graduates who were available and looking work but was unable to find any; this was almost double the rate of unemployment before the start of the recession.

There are several reasons why graduates are finding it difficult to secure a job. Some of these reasons include:

Very little experience or complete inexperience. Mismatch between the graduates’ skillset and the employer’s

requirements. Doubts on the part of the employers about the credibility of the

graduates skillset. The Graduates’ search needs more breadth and depth to find

openings that are a good match. Résumés and Portfolios of the graduates needs to be reviewed and

enhanced to truly reveal all that they bring to the table.

Project OverviewGraduate Career Bureau is concerned with the reduction of the graduate unemployment by developing a scheme that helps fresh graduates to start their career paths after graduation. The ultimate objective is to equip graduates with tangible skills and experience thus making them ready for professional working environment. In order to achieve this objective, this project will focus on six key goals namely: Establishing partnership with local universities to connect the graduates directly

with private companies and encourage them to apply and prepare for the job before their graduation.

Reducing the gap between theoretical education and professional application by providing the necessary training for each individual, who undergoes some psychometric tests in aim to identify his/her lacking areas.

Periodically running workshops that help in improving graduates’ awareness regarding writing professional CVs, cover letters, job interviews, and also to give career advises.

Matching the best opportunities and notifying applicants based on their academic subjects and preferences through the website.

Helping employers to find best candidates for what they’re offering. Giving students the opportunity to propose solutions to business problems laid

out by companies.

Deliverables & Product Breakdown

Cost and Benefit AnalysisCosts[-]

Organisation/Development Costs Support/Operational Costs

Planning Costs

Benefits[+] Tangible Benefits Intangible Benefits

• Website Contract - £35,000• Workshop Location Preparation

£5,000• Hardware Setup £2,000• Marketing Costs - £20,000

• Legal Agreements - £3,000

• Logistics - £5,000

• Staff Training and Salary £5,000

• Technical Support - £5,000• Website Hosting &

Maintenance - £5,000• Printing Costs - £,1000

• Decreased unemployment rate among of University graduates by at least 30%.

• Increase in ranking position among other Universities.

• Improved economy - At least 20% of the graduates will setup their own business thus creating more job opportunities.

• Commission fees from private companies and universities to be part of the programme.

• Companies pay subscription fees to the developer every year to keep the software up to date and for maintenance.

• Improved reputation of the University• The companies get solutions and ideas

while the students get exposure, experience and a possibility of future employment with the company upon graduating.

• Given the opportunities to work together on research based solutions. The companies get some solutions and ideas and the students get exposure, experience and a possibility of future employment with the company upon graduating.

Project Phases and Tasks

Gantt Chart

Phase 1:Initiation

Phase 2: Final Agreements

Phase 3: Website Development

Phase 4: Marketing & Orientation

Phase 5: Site Organisation

Phase 6: Project Launch

10/23/1311/12/13

12/02/1312/22/13

01/11/1401/31/14

02/20/1403/12/14

Some Identified Risks and Contingency PlansRisk Likelihood Impact Contingency

Secondary suppliers bail out on last minute

3 9 Prepare backup third parties beforehand

Negative impact from the marketing campaign

3 7 Make a new survey of the target audience and change the marketing approach accordingly

Not enough personnel to run the training or workshop

4 2 Reassign team roles and assign multiple tasks to personnel based on their identified capabilities.

Technical Difficulties 5 4 Have a maintenance crew standing by to deal with such difficulties.

Venue is not big enough to accommodate training and workshop attendees.

3 2 Make provisions for extra attendees before workshop day; Try to change to another room if possible

Project Organisational Structure

References

1. Hruschka, P. (1997, March). Detailing and Deriving System Requirements. In Engineering of Computer-Based Systems, 1997. Proceedings., International Conference and Workshop on (pp. 25-32). IEEE.

2. BELBIN Associates, "Belbin Team Roles," [Online]. Available: http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8. [Accessed 3 November 2013].

Prototype: Marketing Flyer for Promoting Awareness